Identification and Mapping of DNA Markers Linked to Eastern Filbert Blight Resistance from OSU 408.040 Hazelnut

Abstract

Eastern filbert blight (EFB) of European hazelnut (Corylus avellana L.), caused by the pyrenomycete Anisogramma anomala (Peck) E. Müller, is a major disease problem and production constraint in Oregon’s Willamette Valley. Host genetic resistance is viewed as the most economical means of controlling this disease. Marker-assisted selection has been extensively used for ‘Gasaway’ resistance in the hazelnut breeding program at Oregon State University (OSU). Concern over potential breakdown of this single resistance gene prompted a search for new sources of resistance. Selection OSU 408.040 showed no signs or symptoms of the fungus after a series of disease inoculations, and resistance was transmitted to half of its offspring, indicating control by a dominant allele at a single locus. In this study, we identified six random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) and 11 simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers linked to EFB resistance from OSU 408.040. The new markers supplement the previously identified amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) markers. A linkage map constructed in the progeny OSU 245.098 × OSU 408.040 spanned a distance of 19.5 cM with the resistance locus cosegregating with AFLP marker A8-150 and located between SSR markers LG675 and LG682. Using SSR markers as anchor loci, OSU 408.040 resistance was assigned to linkage group 6 (LG6). Comparison with the previously mapped ‘Gasaway’ resistance locus showed that resistance from OSU 408.040 maps to the same location.